Wormholes
by Domenion
Summary: A wormhole is discovered in the Epsilon Eridani System during the Covenant's invasion of Reach. Will this discovery bring about an age of peace and prosperity or will the galaxy crumble and burn? EVE belongs to CCP. Halo belongs to Bungie/343 Industries.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is being rewritten to fit my original idea. The core elements are the same and some of the character interactions will remain, but overall the story is getting a major tune up. I'll be replacing the chapters individually. Before you ask, No, the one old story is not up for adoption.**

**Worm Holes**

**Chapter: 1**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

Doctor Dan Flyer studied the sensor readout on the screen. The readings were, how shall we say, 'magnificent'. Never in the doctor's wildest dreams did her ever think he would be fortunate enough to study one of these great wonders of space and time. If the readings were right then the worm hole was stable as well. The possibilities were endless. Dr Flyer knew that this research would put him and his tiny team on the map and reserve there places in history.

The only downside to the research was the living conditions. The science station was but a hair's breadth bigger than a longsword, and most of that was taken up by the equipment. The original station that they had was repurposed by the UNSC for extra defense of Reach in system. The advanced and highly sensitive sensor grid was needed to monitor the space around the shipyards for unauthorized slipspace signatures before they emerged. Unfortunately the Covenant were already here. Dr Flyer and is team knew that in the confusion of battle their ride off the station had either been shot down or taken for evacuation efforts. To pass the time until death or a ride, they had taken to collecting any and all information on the worm hole so that others could learn from their work. However, they knew their chances of getting a ride were slim. The wormhole they were studying was located barely one AU past the orbit of Epsilon Eridani c. For all intents and purposes they were 'shit out of luck'.

"Doctor, I'm detecting some unusual readings from the anomaly," said John Kenson. Kenson was a volunteer from M. I. T. that had joined the team for extra credits. Unfortunately he was the only volunteer.

"How unusual are we talking here Kenson?" Flyer asked as he looked over Kenson's shoulder.

"The anomaly is fluctuating like it's under stress. See here," said Kenson pointing to a spike in the numbers, "It looks as though something is coming through."

"Covenant?" said Flyer, voicing the question that popped into his mind.

"I don't think so. With the sleek curves of their ships and the shields, they wouldn't cause this much particle wake. No, whatever this is it's about the size of the frigate, and should emerge in," Kenson paused to read the data, "fifteen seconds."

Flyer and Kenson looked out the main window at the anomaly. Almost like water rippling on a still pond, the worm hole pulsed as an unknown vessel emerged from its event horizon. Once free of the worm hole the ship turned to that its side was facing the station. Eight fair sized turrets pointed right at them. The vessel in question was a little longer than a frigate with grey flat paneled sides. The eight turrets were located along the upper and lower edges of the side panels.

A warning blared over the main computer. "Sir, we just got hacked!" cried Kenson.

"What did they take?" asked Flyer.

"They went for the translator data file," said Kenson.

Flyer looked out at the ship for a moment before speaking. "I think this is a first contact situation. They might be trying to establish communication."

"I think you're right, they are trying to establish communication." The holo projector in the center of the room glowed to life. An image appeared in the center of the projector of an older man who looked to be in his late 50s. Flyer and Kenson were both shocked to see the being on the screen was human. The man was dressed in a light grey suit with strange markings and awards. The man looked around the cramped room before settling his gaze on the two researchers. _"Hello."_

Flyer and Kenson shared a look before Flyer spoke. "Hi," said Flyer in an uncertain tone. He was a little angry with himself, because for the life of him he couldn't think of anything better to say besides the simple greeting of 'hi.'

A blinking on the console took Kenson's attention for a moment. Before Flyer or the man could speak again Kenson spoke. "I hate to cut this meeting short, but the slipspace scanners just picked up a disturbance," all of Kenson's attention was directed at the console. Kenson's whole body went stiff, and the color drained from his face, which told Flyer everything. Seconds later a portal opened directly above the station. A SDV-class heavy corvette came through. Kenson and flyer looked at the ship on the screen. The man on the holo projector had a curious look on his face during all this.

Flyer looked directly at the man before he spoke. "Friend, while our meeting was short it is nice to know that humans exist outside our corner of the universe. For the sake of your safety I suggest you return through the worm hole before the Covenant discover, and exterminate, your people like they have nearly done to mine." Flyer was fully expecting the communication to end and the human ship to leave but what the older man said stunned him. What was more stunning was the complete confidence in the man's voice.

"_No."_ Flyer turned to look at the man, but was drawn to the screen of the man's ship. The eight turrets that were aimed at the station moments ago had swiveled and were pointed at the Covenant ship. The eight turrets opened fire. The message was clear to Flyer. These humans weren't afraid of the Covenant, and had no intention to back down.

Flyer and Kenson watched in awe as the human ship let loose a devastating barrage of fire at the corvette. The rounds hammered home leaving the once fearsome Covenant vessel in shambles. The rounds that struck the corvette exploded and left partially melted craters in the armor. The corvette returned fire with its plasma batteries but it was not nearly as affective. The human ship had shields that shrugged off the damage with seemingly little effort. The turrets the human ship fired at a seemingly impossible rate. Halfway through the fight the guns on the human ship went silent. Seconds later it resumed fire, but this time the rounds were far more effective. The corvette rocked as high velocity rounds smashed against its armor.

Flyer and Kenson didn't have to guess how the Covenant forces on the corvette were reacting to this situation. The command crew was probably experiencing the same emotions as the UNSC crews felt in the early stages of the war. A particularly nasty explosion rocked the corvette as, what looked like the reactor blew. Less than a minute after the battle began the corvette was nothing more than a lifeless chunk of debris.

Before either Flyer or Kenson could comment about the fight the man spoke. _"My kinsmen are eager for some action. After that little tussle I believe we can help you."_ When the man finished speaking the wormhole shuttered and ships began to flood through. To the shocked expressions of Flyer and Kenson what started as one ship quickly turned into hundreds. Some ships were truly massive while others seemed entirely too small. When the last ship passed through, the worm hole collapsed and flickered out of existence. Sitting before them were literally hundreds of ships. If Flyer and Kenson were to wager a guess, they would think that this was a migration or an invasion. They weren't that far from the truth. _"Gentlemen, we have come here in search of a new home. After discussing things with the rest of the Alliance it was decided that your people would probably be very willing to share with us-"_ Several more slipspace portals opened up to reveal more Covenant warships. _"One moment."_

The fight that ensued was less of a fight and more of a massacre. As the Covenant ships lined up to unleash their might the human armada struck first. A Covenant cruiser was obliterated after a single massive missile tore its way into the heart of the ship. Another Covenant cruiser was nearly cut in half after having the blinding white beams carve their way through the shields and armor plating. The Human fleet quickly showed the Covenant battle group that the kid gloves were off and they were playing for keeps.

A Covenant assault carrier started to act funny then began to attack its neighbors. This took Flyer, Kenson, and the Covenant by complete surprise. Several other Covenant ships suffered the same fate as the large carrier. Almost before it has started the battle was over. The new human fleet dismantled the Covenant battle group before they could even power up their cannons.

**0-0-0**

Flyer and Kenson stood nervously by the airlock. After the chance meeting with another human faction and the terrifying and awe inspiring display of power against the Covenant, Flyer and Kenson had finally managed to catch a ride off the little research post. Both men were excited about interacting with a new race, despite the fact that the new race was actually human. The thing that made the men nervous was the size of the ship that had docked with the station. Well rather the ship that owned the hanger their station was currently sitting in.

A knocking at the air lock door told them the coast was clear. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves Flyer opened the airlock. When the door was opened all the way Flyer and Kenson saw a small gathering of humans. There were five humans in total. Four of the humans were as big as the UNCS's fabled Spartans but wore no armor other than a helmet and breast plate. The fifth was more normal in size but still just as impressive. This particular human was dressed in a similar fashion to UNSC officers but the uniform was light silver and was adorned with numerous medals.

"Greetings gentlemen, I am Takin Oziki, first in command under our lord captain," the man spoke pride.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Dan Flyer and this is my assistant John Kenson. We appreciate the lift off the station," Flyer couldn't help but be suspicions of the man.

"The Lord Captain would like to speak with you on the bridge," said Oziki.

The trip to the bridge was relatively short compared to what Flyer and Kenson thought. They boarded a lift that brought them to the bridge in a matter of minutes. When everyone arrived at the bridge the four large guards stopped at the door as the others walked inside. The inside of the bridge was spacious and but efficient. Silver colored panels adorned the walls, floor, and ceiling. Several humans in light grey uniforms sat at stations hard at work monitoring functions of the ship. In the center of the bridge was a strange bit of technology. It looked like a cryo pod but it wasn't. They could see the outline of a person hanging suspended in the strange orange colored fluid.

A sound of liquid being drained away emanated from the pod. Flyer and Kenson looked at the person in the pod as the liquid drained away. After a second or two pause both men heard a hiss as the side of the pod facing them formed a seam down the middle. The seam grew bigger as the doors parted outward. When the doors were fully open a man exited the dark interior of the pod.

"Doctor Flyer and associate Kenson I presume?" asked the man.

"Yes, mister?" said Flyer with some uncertainty.

"Ah, yes, forgive my manners. I'm not used to having company. My name is Merlos. I am the Pod Pilot of this ship," said the man.

"Pod Pilot?" asked Flyer.

"That can wait. Merlos, we have an urgent plea for assistance from you and the rest of your fleet," said Kenson. Merlos looked at him with a 'what kind of help do you need from us' look. "The large swollen ships you have been destroying are part of an entity called the Covenant. The Covenant are trying to exterminate all human life in the galaxy, and they nearly have. Most of the outer colonies are lifeless glass worlds, and some of the inner colonies are the same."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'lifeless glass worlds'?" asked Merlos.

"I've heard it referred to as cleansing, but the outcome is the same. They glass entire worlds from orbit. Park their ships in low orbit and bathe the surface in plasma," said Flyer.

"Sir, the system scan is complete and we have found that the system has plentiful deposits of ore and ice rich asteroids," said Oziki walking up with a data pad. "The outer most planet in the system has at least 3 ice moons in orbit around it as well."

"Good. Inform the fleet that I want an outpost up by yesterday as well as towers on those moons. Ready the mining crews as well. I want the Alliance brought up to full production," Flyer and Kenson watched as Merlos barked out orders. "Gentlemen, as soon as we have a HQ set up we will make our move against the Covenant. Will that satisfy your plea?"

"Thank you," both men said in unison.

**0-0-0**

According to Kenson's watch it only took the Alliance four hours to assemble the outpost and get situated. Watching the flurry of movement around the now fully operational outpost was mesmerizing. The mining crews had started to work on the outer asteroid belt in system and were already pulling in their rich cargos. It wasn't long after the first haul of ore that the refinery on the outpost began to warm up. The Covenant ships that had turned on their own fleets were being dismantled and studied. Kenson and Flyer watched with rapt attention as the Alliance began to organize into battle formations for the push on Reach.

Flyer's attention was drawn from the spectacle before him to Merlos. "Gentlemen the fleet is ready to depart," said Merlos. "Consider your Covenant problem taken care of," the Alliance fleet aligned towards Reach and raced off towards the battle.

**0-0-0**

Space around Reach was in chaos. The UNSC was starting to pull back. The orbital defense grid was down, and more covenant ships were arriving by the minute. Captain Jacob Keyes was utilizing the Pillar of Autumn's new MAC gun to rattle Covenant ships. Captain Keyes and his crew had at least two conformed kills to the name of their ship and were about to fall back and rejoin the fleet when the radar lit up like the Fourth of July. Close to one thousand blips just appeared on the battlefield. Thinking it was another Covenant fleet, Keyes was about to call out a warning when 36 corvettes, 19 cruisers, 13 carriers, 8 assault carriers and countless other small ships exploded across the void. Captain Keyes was stunned by this sudden counter attack and it seemed so were the Covenant. The Covenant forces were thrown into total disarray by this new force.

"Cortana, what's the status of the Covenant fleet?" said Keyes.

"Covenant forces are confused and so is the rest of the defense fleet. I detect close to 1000 contacts that are neither Covenant nor ours," said Cortana.

"Rebels?" said Keyes, pondering the origin of the new fleet.

"I don't think so," Cortana brought up images of several of the new ships. "Starship configurations are not listed and neither are those weapons." Cortana highlighted one of the new ships. "This golden one here is a little over 1.5 km long and is using directed energy weapons. The output readings are very similar, though scaled up, to the Spartan laser." Keyes was now very interested in this new fleet. The ship's lasers were boiling their way through Covenant armor, completely bypassing the shields. Cortana continued, "This one here," she showed a flat silver ship with several missile racks protruding from its upper plating, "fires some kind of missile system. From what I've been able to see, different ships of this hull class fire different types of missiles." The silver ship was pummeling a corvette with a never ending barrage of missiles.

"Cortana, what about those there," Keyes pointed to a cluster of five rust colored ships with long wings that were swept down below their hulls. The ships in question were putting up a continuous stream of fire. The sides of their hulls were ablaze with the muzzle flashes from their cannons.

"I detect no energy output at all from those weapon systems but the damage on the Covenant is clear." The Covenant assault carrier the rust colored ships were firing on was wilting under the sustained fire. "I'd wager they're using large caliber artillery." Cortana paused for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise. "Captain, the rounds those ships are firing are detonating in small electromagnetic pulses that are shorting out the Covenant's shields!" As they watched, the assault carrier's shields flickered and died. For a moment the rust ships stopped firing. A few seconds later they immediately started up again, but this time the rounds they were firing didn't explode against the outer plating of the assault carrier but instead punched through into the bowels of the ship.

"Cortana, arm the MAC. I want a firing solution on that assault carrier," barked Captain Keyes after getting a sudden burst of inspiration.

"MAC is armed and locked," said Cortana.

"Fire!" The specially designed round burst from the muzzle of the MAC and after a short flight tore through the severely wounded assault carrier. A moment later the once fearsome Covenant warship was turned into slag as the reactor detonated in a brilliant flash of light.

"Captain, the AI's on the rust ships are asking if they can form up around us to give both us and them greater firepower," said Cortana.

"Meaning?" asked Captain Keyes with a raised eyebrow.

"They break the shields, we break the armor," said Cortana.

"Ah, tell them they are welcome to join us."

After witnessing several kills from the combination of the Pillar of Autumn and the five rust colored ships, surviving UNSC warships and ships of the new fleet began to form up. The combination of fleets took full advantage of the massive amounts of damage they could unleash on the Covenant fleet. Several of the ships in the new fleet were launching large missiles that would impact the Covenant shields and detonate in a ring of energy that would expand out to 50km before dissipating. Often times UNSC MAC rounds would follow these large missiles and take advantage of the way the Covenant shields would ripple away from the impact sight of the large warheads.

Many of the UNSC ships were stunned at how the golden warships would carve their way through the Covenant with lasers in a wide variety of colors. These golden ships needed no assistance from the UNSC to boil the Covenant alive, though several UNSC vessels would form up around the golden ships to keep the fighters away.

The Covenant was stunned by the way this new fleet coordinated their attacks and maximized their power. A plasma torpedo splashed harmlessly against the shields of one of the gray ships. The offending ship was decimated by a single missile from a large ship that was sitting in a fair sized cluster of other large ships. This, until now, unknown battle group consisted of more than 50 ships but all of them were huge. Nothing like the Covenant supercarrier that had been taken down with a slipspace bomb, but these ships were still larger than anything in the UNSC Fleet. One of these massive ships hit a Covenant corvette with enough force to shatter it like a ceramic pot.

As Captain Keyes and Cortana watched the battle on the monitor several other small groups of unknown warships entered the fray and immediately began to lay into the Covenant fleet. By now the Covenant had retreated back to an area of space that was directly over New Alexandria. Several more slipspace portals opened and a second CSO supercarrier as well as several battleships appeared. The energy projector lanced out and tore a lone warship of the unknown faction in half. Keyes and Cortana wondered how the unknown fleet would react to this monster. They didn't have to wait for long as a large white flash filled the screen. When the light cleared two enormous warships ships sat side by side facing the Covenant supercarrier. One looked like a golden mushroom while the other one looked like a blackish green tear drop. This move shocked most of the UNSC crews. This had easily turned into a standoff.

"Well Captain, those ships may not be as big as that supercarrier but our friends brought two along so this could still be to our favor," said Cortana.

"I wonder how the Covenant will respond to this," said Captain Keyes out loud.

The Covenant supercarrier fired off its energy projector at the golden warship. The armor of the golden warship stood firm against the onslaught of the Covenant weapon. After the attack things went back to a standstill.

"Wow, I was expecting that big ship to snuff it with that last attack," said Cortana. Keyes mutely nodded his head in agreement. "Looks like the Covenant are not sure how to proceed."

Green energy raced across the bow of the blackish green ship as a black hole was brought to life. Both Cortana's and Captain Keyes's eyes nearly bugged out of their heads at the sight of thecreation of a black hole. The power of this faction was truly staggering. The black hole pulsed then launched out a gravitational beam that collapsed the bow of the supercarrier as if it were an empty beer can. This display of power was not to be outdone. The golden ship charged up its main cannon and fired out a golden beam that plowed its way through the rest of the supercarrier.

"Cortana, what did we just witness," asked a dumbfounded Captain Keyes. Cortana didn't answer.

The 27 battleships that arrived with the supercarrier began to attack the Covenant fleet around them. This stunned the UNSC crews so much that they didn't bother to fire at the Covenant fleet. The Covenant were thrown into complete chaos as their own ships turned against them.

Hundreds of massive pulsating opaque bubbles popped into existence around the remnants of the Covenant fleet. One corvette broke rank and attempted to flee through slipspace. To the shock of the UNSC and Covenant the ship reemerged almost instantly in the same spot it just disappeared from. The bubbles were messing with the slipspace portals.

There was nothing to do but sit and watch the Covenant get slaughtered. By now the group of about 50 massive ships had moved closer to the Covenant fleet. Many crews and UNSC personnel moved to or looked out windows to see these monsters in action. All at once the turret ports on the ships began to extend out from their hulls. A massive rust colored tower of a ship fired a volley at one of the trapped Covenant assault carriers.

**0-0-0**

Never before had the Covenant faced a foe whose prowess in space combat would equal or even over shadow their own. There was nothing that could stop these new ships. They were faster, better armed, and better armored. The silver ones had nearly impenetrable shields; while the golden ships had armor plating so thick nothing seemed to be able to dent it. Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee felt a small chill run down his spine as his assault carrier, _Seeker of Truth_, shook violently from a shot from one of those massive tower ships. Even though his shields were holding the armor was severely dented and torn up in several places.

Thel was both vexed and surprised by the appearance of these bubbles. This was something he had never encountered before. They scrambled the slipspace drive so much that the ship would either be ejected from the portal in the same place it entered or couldn't activate the drive at all.

Something Thel noticed was that the rounds fired by the new ships were slower than that of the filthy humans, but some of them had enough mass to push through the shields and dent the armor. The most terrifying factor of this new fleet was the number of ships they had brought to bear. Second had to be the power of those massive ships which struck down the most powerful warship in the Covenant arsenal. Third was the speed some of the weapons could unload their damage onto the fleet. The faster firing guns on many of the smaller ships were too weak to do much to their shields but the sheer volume of rounds fired was over powering the emitters of many ships causing them to fail. Once the shields went down all hope was lost.

The Heavy plating on most of the larger Covenant ships could hold off a shot or two from the UNSC weapons but these new weapons brought by the unknown fleet were a whole other matter entirely. The small rust ships would hose the plating with their auto cannons leaving behind dents and scrapes along the hull. The small green ships would tail the fighters and deliver devastating barrages from their strange kinetic and energy weapons. The small silver ships would lock up the targeting systems on the Covenant warships making them defenseless. The small golden ships would buzz around the plasma emitters and burn holes through the plating with their lasers.

The medium size ships would do everything the small ships would do but on a much bigger scale. Thel 'Vadamee was truly scared of the lumbering behemoths that had where currently beating the tar out of his fleet with their over sized weapons. A blinding flash of light brought Thel's attention to the space behind the group of large ships that were currently hammering his fleet. More monster ships had been brought in by whatever means these newcomers used. These new ships were not nearly as large as the ones that were smashing his fleet but were still bigger than the human ships.

Thel felt a chill run down his spine again as this new group of ships unleashed hundreds, no, make that thousands, of fighters. These ultra fast ships were out maneuvering and out gunning all the fighters in his fleet. Before the fighter could reach the main fleet, a shuddering explosion rocked the ship so hard that Thel and most of his command crew were violently smashed against the deck. Looking at the data feed Thel saw that a third of his remaining forces were gone. Whatever that blast was had vaporized a full third of his surviving fleet.

Lying there, on the deck, Thel wondered if this was the end for him. His ship shook again and the innards of the bridge exploded around him before darkness took him.

**0-0-0**

The UNSC as a whole was shocked at the destruction this new fleet unleashed against the Covenant. Somehow the newcomers had hijacked some the Covenant ships and here using them to shell the surrounding ships. The hijacked ships were firing plasma in all directions. Some of the hijacked ships had been allowed to leave the bubble cluster and here dumping plasma on the trapped Covenant ships. The battle had digressed into the proverbial fish in a barrel joke. The Covenant were trapped inside the cluster of bubbles with the UNSC and the unknown fleet hammering away at them.

With only 13 surviving ships in total a surrender plea was issued by the Covenant. All at once, the unknown fleet stopped firing. The UNSC, however, kept shooting. The ships of the UNSC soon found the powerful weapons of the once friendly unknown fleet pointed at them. All firing stopped after that.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that while trying to replace chapters I accidently deleted the story. So here we are again. Hopefully this one will run more smoothly.**

**Worm Holes**

**Chapter: 2**

Sergeant Bill Fisher peaked out of cover at the Covenant patrol moving in the street below. His unit was currently stranded behind enemy lines. Sgt. Fisher's squad, well it wasn't really a squad anymore, had four civilians en tow that had been picked up as the squad had tried to retreat back to base. Sgt. Fisher's squad had been returning from a previous mission when their pelican was shot down over what had been Manassas. After losing three men during their mission and another six in the crash, Sgt. Fisher was the only one left. As he moved through the city he had picked up a few civilians. Two of the civilians had some combat training of sorts which he was thankful for.

Karen Thames had joined Sgt. Fisher a few hours after he crashed. She had been a cop before the invasion. Next was Tommy Brink, a local gang member that Sgt. Fisher and Karen literally bumped into in a bombed out department store. For four days these three worked hard to keep each other alive as Covenant forces roamed the streets. After those three days the threesome found Samson Blott and the little girl he had rescued and halfway adopted during the invasion. Samson used to be a bouncer at a popular night club in the city. The child he had with him was a six year old named Sally Manson. Samson had picked up the little girl when he saw the car she and her mother were in take a glancing shot from a fuel rod cannon. The mom died on impact but Samson had pulled Sally from the wreck.

The little rag tag group had been trapped in the city along with the rest of the surviving populace for awhile now. All forms of transportation in and out of the city were cut off. Sgt. Fisher's radio in his helmet had been busted a little making it impossible to send out communications. On the bright side the radio could still receive transmissions. It wasn't until the last day or so that the chatter on the radio was saying anything about Manassas. The news the radio brought said that the Covenant were using Manassas as a kind of game preserve. Covenant officers were hunting humans in the rubble for sport.

Today it was Tommy and Samson's turn to forage for supplies.

"Shit that was close," muttered Tommy as he ducked back behind cover as a needle round chipped away some of the brick of the building they were hiding in.

"You're telling me," said Samson as he used an old car mirror on a stick to peek out of the window. The mirror exploded a moment later as a round tore through it, showering him in glass.

"Well fuckle-berries," said Tommy, "looks like they know we are here."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" asked Samson in a sarcastic tone. The building they were hiding in shook as a plasma mortar struck it. "Don't say it." Tommy gave him a stupid grin.

"Man, Fisher's not going to like this. Let's get back to the hideout before they can track us," said Tommy as he began to crawl towards the stairs.

The pair crept out of the room and were halfway down the hall before they heard the distinctive whoosh of a Covenant jetpack. They exchanged a look before hastening their retreat from the building. They got the second floor before they heard the sounds of movement on the floor above them. The deep sounding language of the Elites could be heard. The Elites moved around the room above them and continued to talk. From what they could tell there were two of them. The two Elites above stopped moving and talking as the sounds of gun fire could be heard outside.

Tommy heard a noise at the far end of the hall and saw an Elite in blue armor run around the corner into the hall. The Elite never broke stride as it turned and tossed a grenade behind it. A moment later two more Elites came round the corner just as the grenade went off in their faces. The Elite that tossed the grenade, by unfortunate luck, jumped behind the cover that Tommy and Samson were using. The two humans were too scared to move and could only watch the Elite that was now sitting between them. The Elite calmed down and then noticed Samson and Tommy. There was a tense moment as the Elite and humans looked at each other, but before anyone could make a move, the Ranger pair from the floor above broke through the ceiling.

The blue Elite lunged at one of the Rangers before they could open fire. Moving without thinking Tommy and Samson lunged at the second one. In the struggle Tommy was tossed off to the side because he was smaller than Samson. Samson, a rather massive man at 6'8" and 460 lbs of solid muscle, was able to stay on the Elite. Eventually Samson was kicked off, but managed to role to his feet before facing the Ranger. The Ranger has also gotten to its feet. Remembering what Fisher said about Elites being honor bound, immediately made, what he assumed, was the universal challenge to a one on one fight.

As Samson and the Elite began to circle Samson began to drop his weapons in a fashion that he hoped the Elite would understand as a full challenge. Surprisingly it worked. The Elite began to also detach its weapons. When the last weapon hit the ground the two contenders lunged at each other. When the two met it was like clash of the titans. The Elite may have been a little taller than Samson but it made no difference in the end. When the two met it was awe inspiring. Samson got the first hit in with a devastating blow to the center of the Elite's chest. It was Obvious the Elite was not expecting a human to be this strong and was momentarily stunned. Samson took advantage of this and kept his momentum up and carried the Elite through the wall into the next room with a full charge.

Even though the titanic pair had moved out of sight the sounds of their clash could still be heard. Tommy had gotten to his feet to see the blue Elite stumble over to the wall near him. The other Ranger was dead in the corner. Both Tommy and the blue Elite stared at the hole in the wall where sounds from the fight were coming from. Both combatants were razing all kinds of Cain and were sure to attract attention. A large mass collided with the wall next to the hole. Tommy decided to be brave and moved towards the hole. As he peeked around the edge he saw a bloody and battered Samson pinning an equally bloody and battered Elite against the wall with both hands wrapped around the thing's neck. Sometime during the fight the Ranger's helmet got knocked off. One of the Elite's arms was hanging limply at its side while it weakly tried to fight off the large human slowly choking it to death. By now the blue Elite was standing behind Tommy looking at the last of the fight.

Life eventually drained from the Ranger's eyes and it went entirely limp. Samson violently twisted the Ranger's neck snapping it, then moved away from the body as it slumped to the floor. Samson looked at Tommy and the blue Elite, then looked around the wrecked room before stating defiantly, "That's how it's done!" before keeling over on top of the dead Ranger. Tommy ran to Samson's side to check for a pulse. He found one.

**0-0-0**

"So let me get this straight, you two were discovered, and as you made your way out of the building this minor Elite," Sgt. Fisher gestured over at the blue Elite chained to the wall, "ended up joining you because it was being chased by the other Covenant and then you both watched Samson kill a Ranger with his bare hands, and the two of you dragged his ass back here. Did I miss anything?"

"That about cover's it, Sir," said Tommy who was sweating bullets after the reaming Fisher just gave him for bringing the Elite back to base.

"Ok, let's go ask our guest some questions." Sgt. Fisher walked over to the Elite and squatted next to it so he could look it in the eye. "Name and rank soldier." It was a statement not a question.

Surprisingly the Elite answered. "Blen. I am…no, was a minor in the Covenant." The Elite's voice was lighter than the usual deep rumble that was usually accredited to their voice.

"You're female?" asked Sgt. Fisher.

"Yes," Blen answered in a tone that was unmistakably shameful. Usually Elites would never break eye contact as a sign of defiance and to show they had no fear, if they were captured. Fisher was surprised that this blue Elite was almost scared. She never made eye contact and would twitch slightly when someone made a sudden movement.

"Alright boys, shows over, I'll take it from here," said Karen as she walked into the room.

"What are you doing Karen?" asked Sgt. Fisher as he stood up to look at her.

"I'll get a lot more out of this one than you will," Karen had moved over to stand between Blen and the men. Fisher looked like he was about to protest, but was interrupted. "Trust me. I'm a cop remember."

"Alright, we'll be in the next room," said Fisher. The two men left and soon it was only Karen and Blen in the room.

Turning to look at Blen Karen spoke, "What did they do to you?" she spoke in a soft calming tone.

"Your comrades…" Blen was interrupted before she could finish the sentence.

"Not them, your people." Blen looked up, and for the first time since making it to the hideout, made eye contact.

"What do you mean?" asked Blen in a tone that was timid and spoke volumes. Karen realized that her intuition was correct.

"Before you go on I want you to know that I'm a police officer." Blen gave Karen a look that told her she didn't know what that was. "I'm one of a number of individuals tasked with upholding and carrying out our laws. It's my job to protect civilians from the evil in our society."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Blen.

"You have been showing psychological signs of a crime that is considered extremely dishonorable in human society. Now tell me what they did to you."

"I was assigned to patrol with others of my rank. We were lead by a Major. We were to be his guard while he hunted. After killing a few humans with his rifle, the Major wanted kill a few with his sword. We went looking for humans in the buildings. We found a family and the Major killed the male before their eyes. The mother had a little female with her. She reminded me of my… of my little one." Blen shuddered.

"What happened to your little one?" asked Karen.

"I had a family once. My mate was a strong warrior. Together we had a daughter. He would say, 'I never would have made it to the greatest honor without you.' He believed that our daughter was the greatest honor he could ever ask for," Blen had a fond look in her eye for a moment before her features turned dark. "My mate was against the war with humanity, and when he spoke out he was silenced. Fearing the spread of his heresy they took my daughter and silenced both of them before my eyes."

Karen was horrified by this. She knew the Covenant were monsters but this was a new low. Blen continued on.

"Because of the dishonor of my mate, I was cast out of the family. The military was the only place to go and so I enlisted. They knew what I had been through yet they continued to treat me as though I was less than filth. When the other males found out about my past and that I was a female they made sure to punish me," Blen paused for a long time. "When I saw the Major kill the family I remembered my own family. I attacked with a righteous might that knew no bounds. In the end I was too late to save the little one. Another patrol saw what I had done and chased me into your companions."

Sgt. Fisher entered the room. Karen was about to speak but was silenced when Fisher waved his hand. "Don't worry, we heard," Fisher looked over at Blen. "As a parent myself you have my sympathies for your loss, but we have bigger things to deal with right now. Samson is gone. The fight was too much for his heart and he died about five minutes ago."

"So what does this mean for us?" asked Karen.

Fisher walked over to Blen and crouched down so that he was looking her in the eye. "Blen, after hearing your tale I can't blame you for what you have done. The Covenant took my family as well. I have a tough decision to make about what to do with you. The soldier in me wants to kill you because you are part of the Covenant," Fisher paused to let his words sink in. "But the parent in me is telling me to free you. So, what will it be? Do I need to kill you or can I trust you?"

Blen looked away from Fisher and the life seemed to drain from her eyes before she spoke. "I don't want to fight any longer. I am without honor, home, and family. You killing me means I can join my family at last." A noise from the doorway got their attention.

Sally was standing in the doorway looking at Blen with wide eyes. Blen looked at the child with wonder. Sally walked over to the other side of Blen and wrapped her arms around Blen's larger frame. "Mommy." Blen was wide eyed and looked as though she didn't know what to do. Slowly, without thinking, she moved her arms around to embrace the little girl as well.

"A child's mind is a wondrous thing," said Fisher. Karen was giving him a look that was a mixture of respect and confusion. "She wanted to know what you were talking about so I let her listen in."

"You knew didn't you?" accused Karen, jabbing Fisher in the chest with her finger.

"I figured she'd want death so I let Sally intervene. She was trying to make parents out of all of us but none of us would do, remember?" said Fisher as he and Karen looked on at the embracing pair.

"I guess the parent-child link can cross even species," said Karen. "Come on let's leave them alone for a while."

**0-0-0**

As the two left the room they found Tommy running up to them. Tommy looked as though he had run all the way from the observation post that Sgt. Fisher had assigned him too. "What's wrong?" asked Fisher.

"Covenant…here!" he gasped out before dropping to the ground dead. There was the tell tale glowing shards of a needle rifle on his back. A Skirmisher rounded the corner Tommy had just come and began to fire.

Sgt. Fisher pushed Karen out of the way as the rounds buried their way into his chest. His armor was no match for the glowing shards that he saw sticking out of his chest. "Run!" he yelled before the rounds exploded ending his life.

Karen took off back down the hall with needle rounds embedding themselves in the wall around her. She made it too the room where Blen and Sally were. Blen was standing with Sally in her arms; a long metal rod was in her hand like a club. "Cov…" Karen felt cold flow through her body. She looked down to see the twin glowing points of an energy sword extending from her chest. She was suddenly aware the fact that she was flying.

Blen stood looking at the Major that had just killed Karen. It gave her a look of disgust before slowly making its way into the room. The room had no way out for Blen to move and the Major was blocking the only way out. The warbled dying cry of one of her people could be heard in somewhere in the hideout. The warrior before her turned to look over his shoulder which gave her just enough time to lunge and splatter his brains across the room. A quick glance at Karen told her that she was more than likely dead. Blen took off out the door with Sally.

As she approached the entrance to the hideout another Major got in her way and got it as good as the other had. Blen burst around the corner into the open air of the street and right into a large number of Covenant forces. There were at least six wraiths that she could see and probably still more hiding out of sight. Ghosts were hovering all around, their cannons facing her. Blen stood straight and looked into the eyes of General that was in charge of this large ground force. This sign of defiance caused every weapon in the area to point at her and Sally.

Suddenly a massive human landed in front of her. This human was easily the largest human she had ever seen. His shoulders were a little higher up than her eyes were. Judging from his dimensions Blen understood that this human would rip her apart in seconds should he desire to do so. Looking around Blen saw that more humans as big as the one before her. They didn't look like the fabled Demons that struck fear in the hearts of Covenant forces. No, not these humans, they carried themselves like warriors. Some of the humans carried swords, hammers, axes, and even staves while others carried guns.

These humans had different armor than the normal humans had. Instead of the green or black, these beings wore black with red and white markings that looked like they were hand painted on. Still others were painted with what looked like the blood of her people. A sudden thought emerged into Blen's mind. These humans weren't part of the normal forces. She knew this world wasn't the human's home world, but for a moment she wondered if these beings had been here before the humans settled.

The human before her rolled his shoulders causing every muscle in the beings back to ripple like water. For a moment Blen wondered if the Brutes were this strong. Looking around some of the beings were wearing skulls and other body parts of fallen Covenant soldiers like sick trophies of war. The human before her had several skulls of her race, and his boots looked as though they were made of Brute hide.

Blen had never known fear from the humans until now. The human before her spoke to her without turning around. "Go back inside and keep the little one safe." The human's voice was deep and spoke volumes of the brutality which he and his brothers were going to inflict on the gathered Covenant forces. Taking heed of his warning Blen quickly moved back into the building she just came out of. Soon as she was inside she heard the war cries of at a hundred warriors and the all too familiar chirp of plasma weapons.

The sound of the battle outside was horrendous. She could only imagine what the humans were doing to the Covenant. Blen noticed that Sally was not afraid of the sounds outside. "Why aren't you afraid little one?" asked Blen.

"I prayed that God would send his angels to save us and he did," said Sally with a smile. Blen was confused and a little shocked.

**0-0-0**

While Sally reassured Blen with an all knowing smile all children have, the Covenant were getting repeatedly sodomized in the most brutal of ways.

General Tah 'Vandrel was being forced to watch as this new breed of human took his forces apart. He knew they weren't Demons because they would have struck from the shadows. No, these humans were something different. He had seen one of these new humans cut a raging Brute in half with a large sword. He watched as a phantom was gutted by the single round from a large tank. The tank in question was less of a tank and more of a horror. On the front of the body was a massive plow that had looked as though it was painted with blood. All along the sides Tah could see where dead bodies had been strapped like grotesque trophies. The vehicle was easily twice the size of his wraith.

The wraith Tah was commanding from jerked suddenly to the side. Looking over Tah saw another beast of a tank had rammed his wraith and was pinning it against the side of a building. The barrel of this tank then leveled itself right at center mass of the wraith. Tah scrambled out and over the side as the wraith exploded. Tah looked over at the wreckage and saw the horror crawl over his wraith and continue on its way.

Three Hunter pairs formed up around him as he tried to stand up. A low whine and a heavy dull thump made him look around at the wreck of another wraith. Standing atop the burning wreckage was a hulking machine. The thing was just as big as a hunter. It was dark green and had a single glowing pale green eye in the center of what looked like a hunched over torso. The thing had large claws that extended from thick arms. This thing looked as though it could rip its way through super carrier armor like it was nothing.

The roar of a Brute carrying a hammer alerted the thing's attention to the threat. The Brute took the warrior's leap of faith in hope that the hammer would connect with its intended target. To Tah's surprise as well as that of the Brute, the hulking machine caught the hammer in its claw. There was a brief pause before the hammer discharged its gravity pulse, but to everyone's surprise the gravity was contained inside of a bubble of sorts before there was massive pressure wave that detonated out of the bubble.

Tah looked over at the crater in the street. The machine stood there holding the hammer and on the ground was the remains of the Brute. Tah was horrified at the condition of the Brute after the dust settled. There was little more of the Brute than a bloody smear on the pavement. The hulking machine turned to face him and the Hunters opened fire. Things immediately went bad. The machine moved at speeds that should have been impossible for something of its size.

The machine reached the Hunters and with a single slash tore the first Hunter in two. The second was less fortunate as it was blown apart as some sort of weapon in the machine's palm discharged. The worms that made up the form of the Hunter were instantly liquefied. Tah could see how the worms had been used to paint the street orange. A third hunter caught the machine off guard by smashing its heavy shield into the eye socket. The machine went down from the force of the blow, and before it could react the remaining hunters began to pound on it with their heavy shields.

A mighty roar caught Tah's attention causing him to look behind him and dive out of the way. A massive six wheeled vehicle rocketed down the street directly into the hunters. Tah felt it before he saw it. It was raining hunter chunks. Looking over he saw with some delight that the machine had totaled itself on impact. The heavy armor of the hunters did more damage than the driver guessed. The vehicle was imbedded part way into the side of a wall.

Tah was about to try to get to his feet and move away from wreckage when a plasma mortar from a wraith struck nearby. The remains from the machine the hunters had defeated fell on top of him, pinning him to the road.

**0-0-0**

Blen was brushing the dust off of her and Sally. She had no idea what had just happened, but it was a big something. A moment ago she and Sally had been talking about the being known as 'God' when they felt huge shockwave in the ground followed by a wall of dust that filled the hideout. The panicked cries of Grunts attracted her attention to the door the dust wave had come from. There, huddled in the corner were three Grunts. The grunts all turned to look at her when she got closer. As one they all scurried over to her and immediately latched onto her legs shaking in terror.

A noise from the door brought their attention to a women dressed in golden robes that seemed to flow like water. Her complexion was flawless and her amber eyes glowed with an ethereal light that was entirely too unnatural. She gazed around the room at everyone before speaking. "Follow me," she said in a tone that was elegant yet carried power. Blen couldn't help but shudder when the women spoke. There was something unnatural about this human. Blen was inclined to grab Sally and take her deeper into the hideout but the look the woman gave her squashed that idea before she could act.

Once they were outside Blen saw the massacre. Whoever the large humans were they had torn the Covenant forces to shreds. All around her Blen saw where the Covenant had been out matched. In the center of the street there was a pile of dead Brutes. Her kind had been piled about 20 meters beyond the Brute pile. The worms that formed the hunters were being loaded into a large container. There were several other piles of bodies and a few piles of equipment as well as numerous wrecked vehicles that were being moved to large courtyard a ways down the street.

In the middle of the street in front of her was a shallow but wide crater that was about ten meters across. On was side of the crater was a dark smear that confused Blen. What had caused this dark spot? It didn't look like the charred remains of an explosive. The street would have been cracked and torn up, not compressed. On the other side of the crater was a large hulking, dark green, machine with massive claws on its arms. The machine moved its claws so that its palms were face down. There was a dull thump in the ground as the machine launched itself off the ground and landed on top of a building across the street. There where the machine had been were two smaller craters that shared the same appearance to the larger one in the middle of the road.

It suddenly clicked for Blen. She stood shocked and horrified at the idea she just had. That stain had been a body. The blackish blue color of the stain was blood. Blen realized that the stain had been a Brute. The idea that these massive humans had weapons like this shocked her.

Blen felt Sally squirm in her arms and looked towards where she was looking. There in the distance was an elegant golden transport. Blen then noticed the massive guards that were guarding the ramp. The women was standing next to the ramp looking at Blen and the others. The Grunts cautiously made their way up the ramp looking around as though unsure what was going to happen. Before Blen walked up the ramp she stopped before the strange woman and spoke. "If you do anything to hurt my charge I'll personally see to it that your life ends in the most painful way possible," Blen spoke without turning to look at the woman then walked the rest of the way into the ship.


End file.
